How prepared are enterprises and government agencies for the next wave of AI-driven risk?

I sit down with Tim Freestone, Chief Strategy Officer at Kiteworks, to unpack the findings from the Kiteworks 2026 Data Security & Compliance Risk Forecast and what it reveals about the true state of data resilience today. As AI accelerates business processes and agentic systems gain more autonomy, Tim argues that the real challenge is no longer about adding another security tool. It is about gaining repeatable control over how sensitive data moves across organizations, partners, and automated systems.

We explore why third-party involvement in breaches has surged to nearly one in three incidents and what that means for board-level accountability. Tim explains how traditional third-party risk assessments struggle to scale in an AI-enabled world, and why data-layer controls and modern digital rights management approaches are being revisited in a more practical form. We also examine the shift from ransomware headlines to the rising dominance of social engineering, and why micro-learning and human error prevention may offer a more realistic path forward than annual compliance training.

Our conversation also tackles the regulatory pressure building across regions, from evolving GDPR requirements to the EU AI Act. Tim makes the case for unified, data-centric compliance models that provide file-level visibility and auditability, rather than fragmented controls across siloed systems. We discuss the growing relevance of data security posture management, the shrinking timeline for quantum risk, and the “harvest now, decrypt later” threat that leaders can no longer afford to dismiss as a distant concern.

Finally, we turn to identity as the new perimeter in a world where AI agents act with increasing autonomy. Tim shares why identity alone is insufficient and why combining identity with data location defines the modern security boundary. For leaders facing limited budgets and skill constraints, his advice is pragmatic: start with visibility, align with established frameworks like NIST, and use AI-enabled copilots to accelerate cyber maturity rather than fall behind.

If you are responsible for security, compliance, or risk outcomes, this episode offers a clear-eyed look at what is changing, accelerating, and must be addressed now. Are you truly in control of every send, share, receive, and save of sensitive data across your ecosystem?